Printing device.



J. S. DUNCAN. PRINTING DEVICE. APPLIGATION FILED SEPT: 5, 1912.

1,082,505, Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

30G VlHOL DEJADIHCI COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH COAI WASHINGTON. D. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH S. DUN CAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ADDRESSOGRAPH COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PRINTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters'Paten-t.

Patented Dec. 30, 1913.

To all whom it mayconcern;

Be it known that I, JosEPH S. DUNCAN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printing Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of printing devices which comprises a body or form provided with printing characters adapted to print an address or other suitable matter, such devices being adapted to be stored in accordance with a card-index system or stacked in a pile and run through an addressing or other printing machine for taking impressions from the forms.

In many instances it may be desirable to print from only certain ones or certain predetermined classes of the printing devices in which event those devices which are not to be printed from must either be removed from the stack which is fed through themachine, or, if all the devices in the stack are run through the machine, the printing mechanism must be controlled so that it will take an impression from the desired printing devices only. The second method, however, is preferable, for the reason that the printing devices may be retained in their regular order and the labor of selecting and removing from the stack those devices which are not to be printed is eliminated.

My present invention contemplates the provision of a printing device which will be equipped with a tripper adapted, when located in a certain predetermined position on the device, to initiate the operation of the printing mechanism as the device is fed through the addressing or other printing machine.

A further aim of my invention is the provision of a printing device having a'tripper adjustably and reversibly mounted thereon and capable of being located in any one of a number of different positions along one edge of the device so that a series or stack of the devices may be classified in accordance with a predetermined classification, the various classifications being denoted by different positions of the trippers on the devices. All of the devices in one class will have their trippers located in the same relative position and as many different classifications may be made as there are different positions which the trippers may assume 011 the individual devices.

My present invention is designed toprovide a maximum number of position classifications for mined lengtl.

Another object of the'invention isto provide a tripper of novel construction and formation which shall be'ada'pted for attachment in various positions to printing'devices of well known construction.

Uther objects and advantages of thepre'sent invention will be apparent as the same is better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connec tion with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawingsFigure l is a plan view of a printing device embodying my invention and showing the printing characters in relief; Fig. 2 is a similar view of another form of plate equipped with my invention; and Fig. 3 is a perspective View of my improved tripper.

On the drawings and referring particularly to Fig. 1, reference character 5 designates a printing device preferably stamped from a sheet of metal upon which ana-ddress or other printed matter ma this device being of the same character and construction as shown in my prior Patent No. 1,015,757, granted January 23, 1912. The device as shown has an elevated portion 6 provided with openings in its upper and lower walls I slots 7 adapted to receive the stems 8 of the index card holder 9. This card holder carries a data card 11 upon which any desired information may be printed. Any other preferred form of indexing device may be employed, if desired.

Print-ing devices of this general character are intended to be fed consecutively through an addressing or other printing machine which comprises an adjustable controller adapted to be located in any predetermined position across the path of travel of the printing devices, so that it may be engaged and actuatedby trippers mounted'in certain predetermined positions on thedevices. Acby a tripper 011 a tuation of the controller printing device will, through suitable mechanism, set into operation the printing mech anism to take an'impression from'the print ing device carrying the tripperl' Obviously,

* be stamped up,"

which are a lined to form keeper no impressions will be taken from those printing devices on which the tripper is not positioned to engage and actuate the controller. Since the printing devices are arranged according to a predetermined classification and the trippers are similarly located on each device of a certain class, it will be manifest that an impression may be taken from each device of any particular class by setting the controller in a position to be actuated by the tripper of the class which it is desired to print.

The tripper in the present instance comprises, as shown in Fig. 3, a stem 12 adapted to be inserted in the keeper slots of the printing devices and a head 13 formed at the upper end of the stem. This head has a portion thereof cut away at one side of the longitudinal axis of the tripper, leaving what may be termed an operative portion 14; projecting on one side only of said axis. This operative portion is the part of the tripper that is brought into engagement with the controller to initiate the operation of the printing mechanism as the devices are fed through the machine. The trippers are strengthened or reinforced by longitudinally extending strengthening ribs 15 preferably stamped up from the metal of the tripper. If desired, the trippers may be provided with index characters so that they may also perform the function of index tabs.

In Fig. 2 I have shown the tripper as applied to a printing device 16 similar in construction to that disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,026,258, granted May 14;, 1912, the plate and cards bearing the printed matter being omitted. This device is provided with a series of keepers 17 forming keeper slots for the reception of the stems of the indexing device 18 and the trippers. The particular construction of the printing devices, however, may be varied within wide limits, the two devices shown in the present instance being disclosed merely for purposes of illustration and, it will be obvious, that the trippers may be attached to any preferred printing device which is provided with keeper slots for the reception of the tripper stems.

The printing devices disclosed on the drawings are each provided with twelve keeper slots and it will be manifest that a tripper may be located in twelve different positions by inserting it in any one of the twelve slots. Twelve different classifications of a stack of printing devices may, therefore, be made, all of the devices in each class having their trippers positioned in the same slots. In order, however, that a number of classifications may be made greater than the number of keeper slots in each printing device, I have ofiset the operative portion 14 of the tripper, as previously described. The tripper may, therefore, be

placed in a slot in reverse position, thereby bringing the operative portion on the oppol site side of the longitudinal axis of the tripper and of the slot, thereby giving two posit-ions of the operative portion of the tripper for each slot. -When a tripper is positioned in a slot, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, the operative portion 14: will be disposed on the right hand side of the longitudinal axis of the tripper but, when the tripper is reversed, as shown in dotted lines, this operative portion will be disposed at the I left of the longitudinal axis of the tripper. The tripper is also shown in two positions in Fig. 2 with the operative portion disposed at the right, as shown in full lines, and at the left, as shown in dotted lines. Since the axes of the keeper slots are spaced apart a greater distance than the width of the operative portions of the keeper, these operative portions may be located in two different positions for each slot, thereby procuring an aggregate number of different positions of the operative portions equal to twice the number of slots.

It will be understood from the foregoing that I have provided a tripper adapted to be attached to any type of printing device provided with keeper slots to receive the tripper stem and that by reversing the position of the keepers in the slots 1 am enabled to divide a stack of printing devices into twice as many classifications as there are keeper slots in any individual device. By setting the controller on an addressing machine to correspond with the position of the class of printing devices which it may be desired to print from, a whole stack of devices may be run through the machine and an impression will be taken only from those in the desired class, the other devices, having the trippers located in different positions, being permitted to run idly through the machine.

It is believed that my invention will be understood from the foregoing without further description and it will be obvious that the size, shape and proportion of thevarious parts shown and described may be modified without departing from the essence of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A printing device of the character described provided with a tripper having an operative portion to cooperate with a controller of a printing mechanism, said tripper capable of being reversed on the printing device to bring its operative portion into different operative positions.

2. A printing device of the character described provided with tripper which is shiftable along one edge of the printing device to different positions thereon, and having an operative portion extending beyond the periphery of the printing device, said tripper capable of being reversed upon the printing device to bring its operative portion into different operative positions.

3. The combination of a printing device comprising a body portion provided with a series of keeper slots, and a tripper adapted to be vpositioned in any of said slots, said tripper having an operative portion projecting on one side of the longitudinal axis thereof whereby upon reversal of the tripper said operative portion will be located in diiierent positions on said printing device.

4. The combination of a printing device provided with a keeper slot, and a tripper positioned in said slot, said tripper having an operative portion projecting laterally of .the longitudinal axis thereof, said operative portion being adapted to be disposed upon opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of said slot by reversal of the tripper in the slot.

5. The combination of a tripper having an operative portion projectin on one side of the longitudinal axis thereot, and a printing device provided with a series of keeper slots adapted to receive said tripper, the longitudinal axes of said slots being spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the operative portion of said tripper to enable said operative portion to be located, by reversal of the tripper, in two diiierent positions for each keeper slot, thereby permitting a number of different positions of the tfipper greater than the number of keeper s ots.

6. A reversible tripper for a printing device comprising a stem adapted to be engaged with the printing device, and an op erative portion projecting on one side only of the longitudinal axis of the stem.

7 A reversible tripper for a printing device comprising a stem adapted to be engaged with a printing device, and a longitudinally extending operative portion projecting laterally at one side only of the longitudinal axis of the tripper and in a plane with said stem.

8. A reversible tripper for a printing device comprising a stem strengthened by longitudinal ribs, and an operating portion projecting laterally at one side only of the longitudinal axis of the stem.

9. A tripper for a printing device comprising a stem, and a head of greater width than the stem, a portion of the head being removed to leave an operating portion projecting laterally from one side only of the longitudinal axis of the tripper.

10. A reversible tripper adapted to be detachably engaged with a printing device and having one corner at its outer edge cut away and leaving an outwardly projecting operative portion adjacent thereto adapted to assume different operative positions upon reversal of the tripper.

11. A tripper adapted to be detachably engaged with a printing device and comprising a stem having a head thereon, said head having a portion thereof removed at its outer edge leaving an operative portion adapted to assume diiferent operative positions upon reversal of the tripper.

12. A reversible tripper adapted to be de tachably engaged with a printing device and having an operative portion arranged to assume diflerent operative positions upon reversal of the tripper on the printing dev1ce.

JOSEPH S. DUNCAN.

WVitnesses:

WM. 0. BELT, M. A. KIDDIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

